Rebirth in 1972: Redemption in Changbai Mountain

After Xiao Niangao's birthday, Zhou Rui returned to his leisurely life.

I went up the mountain once during that time, but this time I didn't encounter a large group of prey. I could only snatch a couple of bear dens and kill a few roe deer.

It weighed less than two thousand jin. This forced Zhou Rui to use his sixth sense and dig out several badger burrows.

After weighing over 2,000 jin (1,000 kg), Zhou Rui felt that this method was too inefficient, so he had to call it a day and go home to wait for Wang Shouye's next message.

There was still no news from Tong Lei in town, so Zhou Rui could only wait quietly.

He was a skilled hunter and not lacking in patience; if there was no opportunity, he would wait indefinitely.

"Little Rice Cake, come here, come to Auntie's."

On the snow in the yard, An'an was waving at Xiao Nian Gao.

Little Niangao just turned one year old and is gradually gaining some strength in her legs, so she doesn't want to be carried anymore and always wants to get down and walk.

Now, Zhou Rui's original suspenders have a new use.

He tied the baby carrier under Xiao Niangao's chin and held her up from behind to prevent her from falling.

Little Rice Cake was still several meters away from An'an when she excitedly pounced forward.

She wasn't standing very steadily; she wobbled and sometimes veered off course.

Zhou Rui held the cloth strap, correcting her every now and then, and followed her step by step.

Every time I walk up to An'an and touch her little hand, An'an runs to the other side.

Maodou, Maoqiu, and a few other puppies joined in the fun, occasionally darting past Xiaoniangao.

Little Rice Cake caught sight of it and chased after the puppy.

And so it went until Xiao Niangao got tired of walking and turned around to hug Zhou Rui's leg, at which point Zhou Rui picked her up.

"Second Brother, isn't Little Rice Cake leaving?"

An An wiped the sweat from her forehead.

Zhou Rui looked down, squatted down, picked An'an up, and kissed her cheek.

"Are you tired? Little Rice Cake is tired too."

An'an opened her eyes wide in disbelief. That's it? If it were her, she could run around the village from morning till night without getting tired.

"Let's go back, your second brother will make you something to eat."

Zhou Rui went back into the house and put the two of them on the kang (a heated brick bed). Since it wasn't mealtime yet, Zhou Rui just made a steamed egg, thinking of giving Xiao Niangao and An'an some energy.

But when he carried the still steaming hot steamed egg into the inner room, he saw that Xiao Niangao had already fallen asleep on the pillow.

An'an knelt down to one side, quietly keeping him company.

"What's wrong? Weren't you playing with her? You fell asleep so quickly?"

"Hehe, she was playing with a pillow just now, and then, while she was playing, this happened."

As she spoke, An'an lay down and nodded rhythmically, like she was fishing.

"And just like that, with his little head bobbing up and down, he fell asleep."

Seeing An An's clear voice accompanying her vivid performance, Zhou Rui understood.

Little Rice Cake was probably already low on energy, but she was still trying to stay awake and play with An An. In the end, she couldn't hold on any longer and fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

"Then you eat first."

Zhou Rui placed a large bowl on the kang table and handed a spoon to An'an.

"Give me some, but what if I finish all the rice cakes and there's nothing left?"

An'an didn't take the spoon, afraid that she had a big appetite and would finish all the rice cakes.

"How much can you eat? This is such a big bowl! Even if you finish it, your second brother can make more."

"hey-hey."

An An smiled, her eyes darted around, and she pulled Zhou Rui to sit on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), then turned around and sat in Zhou Rui's lap.

"Brother feeds."

Zhou Rui was taken aback and looked at An'an in his arms. He couldn't see the little person's face, but he could feel the affection in her.

An'an started eating on her own a long time ago, and ever since her sister-in-law abandoned Xiao Nian Gao and ran away, she loves Xiao Nian Gao more than anyone else.

When Zhou Rui wasn't home, she and Zhou Ping took turns taking care of Xiao Niangao.

She cared more about this little niece than Zhou Ping did.

However, she herself is still a child, and she also wants to be loved by others, and what she wants most is Zhou Rui's love.

Zhou Rui didn't speak, but gently scooped up a spoonful of steamed egg custard, blew on it, and lightly touched it to his lips to test the temperature.

"Awoo."

An'an opened her mouth wide and put the whole spoon in her mouth, making a funny face.

Zhou Rui continued, each time feeding Xiao Nian Gao a shallow spoonful, just as he usually did when feeding him.

"Do you know where Third Brother went?"

"I don't know?"

An'an ate with great enthusiasm, shaking her head as if the steamed egg custard was some kind of heavenly delicacy.

"Don't worry about them, those wild children will come back when they're hungry!"

She waved her hand dramatically, like a patriarch.

Zhou Rui chuckled slightly. Who taught him all this?

Aunt Changchun? Doesn't seem like it. She doesn't have any wild children anymore; Liu Mo spends all his time at home learning recipes.

Aunt Li Ying? Very likely.

She often went with Zhou Ping to play with Ping An's brothers, and then Zhou Ping and the others would leave her at their aunt's house and run away.

This is probably something he learned from Aunt Li Ying's catchphrase.

"Alright, we'll leave that wild child alone. But An'an, don't you dare follow in Third Brother's footsteps, understand?"

An'an had her mouth full of egg custard, but she didn't swallow it.

Has she trapped herself? She wants to be out and about all the time.

However, appearances still need to be maintained.

She swallowed what was in her mouth with difficulty, turned around, and showed a big smile.

"Second brother, don't worry, I won't. I'm a good boy."

Zhou Rui wiped the leftover food from the corner of her mouth and looked at the quirky child, finding it somewhat amusing.

"Okay, my An'an is the best behaved, she definitely can't be like Pingwa, right?"

An'an puffed out her cheeks, but instead of replying, she turned her head away.

I can play with crickets, but I can't let myself get inside them. I have so many girlfriends waiting for me to come and play with them.

An'an has many playmates now. She has candy in her pocket, picture books in her hand, and a whole bunch of other kids behind her.

An'an stopped eating after eating less than half of it. She had just eaten breakfast not long ago, and she still had food in her stomach.

Zhou Rui had no choice but to take the steamed egg custard back to the kitchen and keep it warm on the pot so that it could be eaten when the rice cakes were cooked.

After finishing all that, Zhou Rui climbed onto the kang (heated brick bed). In this comfortable state, he really didn't want to move much.

An'an crawled over, holding a copy of "Havoc in Heaven," and asked Zhou Rui to read it to her.

She can't read yet. Usually, when she's with her girlfriends, they all look at the screen and talk to each other, and everyone talks differently.

She wanted to hear her second brother's story, which was much more exciting than they had imagined.

After flipping through a few books, the roof was suddenly pushed open with a bang.

Zhou Ping led the Ping An brothers through the door, followed by a small locust tree.

"Second brother, look, we've killed so many of the old thieves."

The four of them reached out together, each holding a string of sparrows.

Before Zhou Rui could speak, An'an got up and stood on the kang (a heated brick bed) with her hands on her hips.

"Pingwa, where have you been playing again, you wild child?"

Looking at An'an's sullen face, Zhou Rui thought she was going to teach Zhou Ping a lesson.

However, the next sentence almost made him knock his jaw out.

"They didn't even take me with them."